A MIXED BAG FOR ENGLAND
Sterling work for 45 minutes, then Southgate’s men show vulnerable side in second half
THE halcyon days of building up an England team as potential world champions on the basis of a decent half in a friendly have long since died, killed off by serial disappointments and the discomforting encroaching reality of England’s real place in the world game.
So no one was ready to pronounce that this was England restored after as good a first-half display they have shown under Gareth Southgate. Which was sagacious given that, as if to dampen any burgeoning expectation, this team then amply demonstrated their vulnerabilities in the second half.
Still, to overplay that would be to carp. To win your penultimate game before the real business begins, to do so in decent fashion, with promising performances from key performers and a goal from your captain is almost as good as it gets prior to the World Cup.
No one should be booking an open-top bus at present for mid-July. Yet England demonstrated enough yesterday evening to suggest that, when they fully engage their attacking instincts, they can be a threat in Russia.
Of course, they looked less assured when Nigeria recovered their nerve and took the game to England after the break. This will never be an England team to lower your heartrate in a crisis. But they retain their fluidity and ambition, even when stretched. They are attractive to watch. And they attack with intent. At present, that is as much as can be hoped.
And the final quarter of any friendly match is hard to gauge, when substitutions disrupt the flow of the game. England finished the game with Danny Welbeck and Marcus Rashford up front and Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Fabian Delph in midfield, which looked very much the B-team.
Still, the A-team did enough to foster hope.
Raheem Sterling, after a week of media focus, tattoos and tardiness claims, buzzed with creative fervour, could not quite find a finish and was booked for diving.
The game could scarcely have started better for England. Kieran Trippier, as expected, was selected at right-back. But that he is nailed on for the starting 11 came when he stepped up to take the opening freekick after six minutes.
A decent job he made of it too, forcing keeper Francis Uzoho to tip wide for a corner.
Trippier stepped up for the corner, confirming his role as set-piece taker (Ashley Young would take corners on the left).
Trippier’s delivery this time was faultless, finding Gary Cahill rising above his markers to head home.
A few weeks ago, Cahill was out of the Chelsea side and all but certain to miss the cut for England’s 23 in Russia. Since then, he has lifted the FA Cup as Chelsea captain and now looks a starter for England.
Yet this was more than a mere decent moment for England.
For 45 minutes they looked energetic and slick as their attacking line-up moved the ball swiftly around a strong Nigerian side.
Sterling, in particular, was at the heart of it all. He was chipping just over after 13 minutes, combining with Harry Kane and Young to set up the wing-back six minutes later and lifting the ball over after Kane and Dele Alli combined to set him up in the 37th minute.
His combinations with Kane as striking partner were promising.
In the debit column always are those paltry two goals in 38 England games. Sterling was finding decent scoring positions, no mean feat; but he has yet to show he is clinical playing a central role rather than wide, as he does mainly for City and from where he does score.
That said, Sterling was fully involved as England made it 2-0.
Leon Balogun hesitated on the ball in his half and Eric Dier pounced, finding Kane.
He in turn fed Sterling, who controlled and returned the ball to his captain. With minimal back-lift but maximum power, Kane got his shot away from the edge of the box and surprised keeper Uzoho with its ferocity to make it 2-0.
Yet if one move exemplified what England have achieved in the under Southgate, it came after 28 minutes. It started with Jordan Pickford, surely established as first choice for Russia, who had seen precious little of the ball so far.
Yet given the chance, despite a Nigerian press, he was determined to play out from the back to Kyle Walker, who fed Trippier, who found Dier.
On and on it went, England working the ball swiftly and smoothly with intent and precision before the move ended with Trippier, by now a right winger, crossing for Jesse Lingard, who just missed connecting with the ball.
It was as good a 45 minutes as England have had for some time. But it was aided by a lax Nigerian display. A half-time reorganisation by Gernot Rohr meant Nigeria were much better placed to perform come the second half. Within two minutes of the re-start, Alex Iwobi had seized the ball in midfield and fed Odion Ighalo. He muscled his way past Walker far too easily to get a shot away, the weakness of England’s back three exposed for the first time. They were saved by the post, with Pickford beaten, but no one had tracked Iwobi, who connected with the rebound.
Nigeria were briefly in the ascendancy and we measured England’s capability on the back foot. In summary, they are more suited to being on the front foot. ENGLAND (3-4-2-1): Pickford; Walker, Stones, Cahill; Trippier, Dier, Young (Rose 68), Alli (Delph 82); Sterling (Rashford 73), Lingard (Loftus-Cheek, 67); Kane (Welbeck 73). Subs (not used): Pope, Heaton, Butland, Maguire, Livermore, Lallana, Vardy. Booked: Sterling. NIGERIA (4-3-3): Uzoho; Idowu, Troost-Ekong, Balogun (Omeruo 45), Onazi (Etebo, 45); Mikel, Obi (Ogu 45), Abdullahi; Ighalo (Iheanacho 77), Moses (Musa 63); Iwobi.Subs (not used): Akpeyi, Ezenwa, Aina, Echiejile, Ndidi, Simy, Awaziem. Booked: Musa. Referee: Marco Guida (Italy). Attendance: 70,025.